Governor Nathan Deal - Georgia’s 82nd Governor (2011-2019)

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Deal appoints 11 to boards

November 10, 2011

Ben E. Satterfield, Consumer Advisory Board
Satterfield is a sales manager with Allgood Pest Solutions in Lawrenceville. He has been in the termite and pest control business for more this 35 years. He merged his personal business, Mug a Bug Pest Control Inc., with Allgood Pest Solutions in 2006. He has served as chairman of the Gwinnett Recreational Authority and the Gwinnett History and Preservation Authority. Satterfield and his wife, Jolie, have five daughters and 14  grandchildren. They reside in Lawrenceville.

Cecil A. Bonner Jr., Consumer Advisory Board
Bonner is a retired state manager for St. Paul Insurance. He serves on the Canton Planning and Zoning Board, the Canton Main Street Program and the Canton Government Study Committee. Bonner earned a bachelor’s of Business Administration from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Karen, have one son, Christopher. They reside in Canton.

James F. Braswell, Board of Directors of the Georgia Lottery Corp. (reappointment)
Braswell is a partner in the certified public accounting firm, Lamb & Braswell, LLC, located in Macon. He currently serves as chairman of the board of the Georgia Lottery Corp. He is a founding board member and previous chairman of the Ronald McDonald House of Central Georgia. He has served on the board of trustees of the Subsequent Injury Trust Fund and as a longtime board member and past president of Vine-Ingle Little League. Braswell earned a bachelor’s of Business Administration from Mercer University. He and his wife, Helen, live in Macon.

Pamela C. Griffin, State Board of Nursing Home Administrators (reappointment)
Griffin is a part-time speech-language pathologist with Dodge County Schools. She retired from Pulaski County Schools as the director of special education and the director of Pre-K in 2003. Griffin received a master’s degree in Speech Pathology from the University of Georgia and a master’s of School Administration from Valdosta State College. She and her husband, Ben, have two children and one grandson. They reside in Hawkinsville.

Elizabeth W. Knowlton, Roadside Enhancement and Beautification Council
Knowlton retired as a senior archivist with the Georgia Archives in Morrow. She serves as vice president of the Metro Atlanta group of the Sierra Club and is an active member in the Lake Claire Garden Club. She volunteers with the Georgia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and with Charis Books, a women’s bookstore in Little Five Points. Knowlton earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in English from New York University and a master’s degree in Library Science from Atlanta University. She resides in Atlanta.

Jan H. Ligon, Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities 
Ligon is an associate professor of social work at Georgia State University and a licensed clinical social worker. He currently serves on the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage and Family Therapists. He is a past president of the Georgia Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. Ligon earned a bachelor’s of Business Administration from the University of Central Arkansas, a master’s of Social Work and a doctorate of Social Work from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Ann, have one daughter and two grandchildren. They reside in Atlanta.

Nathan R. Merritt, Roadside Enhancement and Beautification Council
Merritt is the director of real estate for North Georgia, Tennessee and North Alabama with Fairway Outdoor Advertising. He has worked in the outdoor advertising industry for more than 20 years and is a current board member of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Georgia. Merritt attended Miller-Motte Business College before entering into the U.S. Navy. He and his wife, Rene, have two children, Thaddeus (Tadd) and Brittany. They reside in Kennesaw.

Evelyn Wynn-Dixon, Board of Directors of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority
Wynn-Dixon is an Atlanta native and mayor of the city of Riverdale. She serves on Gov. Deal’s Transit Governance Task Force, the American Red Cross Minority Recruitment Board and the Securus House Executive Board. Wynn-Dixon is also involved with the board of directors of the National Association of Black Mayors. Wynn-Dixon earned a bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Georgia State University and master’s degree in Gerontology from the University of Georgia. She is the mother of four children and seven grandchildren. She resides in Riverdale.

John F. Kieffer, Lake Lanier Islands Development Authority (reappointment)
Kieffer is a small business owner with a career centered on construction and land development. He carries a professional contractor’s license in residential and light commercial construction. He serves as chairman of the board for the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce. Kieffer previously served on the Forsyth County Commission, the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority’s Regional Advisory Panel and the Small Business Compliance Advisory Panel for the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. Kieffer was past chairman of the Georgia Mountains Regional Commission. He earned a bachelor’s in Architectural Engineering from Southern Polytechnic State University. He and his wife, Beth, have two children. They reside in Cumming.

Heath Garrett, Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission
Garrett is a founding member of the law firm Turner, Bachman & Garrett LLC. He leads the Southeast office of the Stevens and Schreifer Group, a national media advertising firm. Garrett currently serves on the boards of the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, the Council for Quality Growth and the Georgia chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. He previously served as U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson's chief of staff, where he worked as the chief political strategist for Isakson's successful U.S. Senate campaigns in 2004 and 2010. Garrett’s other political clients have included: Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens, Secretary of State Brian Kemp and the Georgia Republican Party. From 1996 to 1998, he served as a legal and policy adviser to Chairman Johnny Isakson and the Georgia State Board of Education. Garrett is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Georgia. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1995, where he served as an editor for the Georgia Law Review and was inducted into the Order of the Coif. Garrett and his wife, Lee, have three children. The family resides in Marietta.

Alisande C. Osuch, Consumer Advisory Board
Osuch is a retired Army veteran with more than 20 years of active duty in worldwide assignments. She has served on the board of directors of the Southeast Association of Facilitators, the Hands of Hope Free Medical Clinic and is a founding member and past president of the West Point Charitable Enterprises of Atlanta. Osuch earned a bachelor’s degree in general engineering from the United States Military Academy. She is a graduate of Leadership Henry and the Coverdell Leadership Institute. She has two sons, Randall and Jacob. She resides in Stockbridge.